The African Magic Leaf

The past few weeks have been fun in the Kigigha household. Before you ask, Kigigha is my dad’s surname and he’s in his mid 60s, married to my slightly younger mum. Watching them grow old has been fun for most parts and absolutely mind boggling weird for the other parts. Initial sight would have you think they were sick of each other but the truth is shockingly more sinister; apparently, they just enjoy or should I say enjoyed getting on each other’s nerves. That was when Bitterleaf got into the equation. Now I’m not saying bitterleaf saved their marriage or anything, I’m just saying the frequent arguments over simple things have toned down a bit lately and it’s all thanks to their shared interest in the benefits of soaking bitterleaf in gin. It may not sound like a big deal to you but for me, having to visit them frequently because I live around them, it often is a pain to judge their arguments and hurt the other’s feelings by seemingly picking sides when I drop my unbiased verdict.

Now my dad often talked extensively about showing appreciation so I thought it right to delve slightly into this magic leaf that could most likely save your marriage. It is known by various names depending on your location/language and occurs wild in most countries of tropical Africa, from Guinea east to Somalia and south to north-eastern South Africa, and in Yemen. In my locality, it is commonly referred to as bitterleaf because of it’s peculiar awful taste and I intend to run some experiments on the effects of smoking it but that’s a post for another day.

By Forestowlet [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

The botanical name of the shrub is Vernonia amygdalina Delile (VA), family Asteraceae or Compositae, The genus Vernonia derives their name from an English botanist named William Vernon and it Grows under a range of ecological zones in Africa and produces large mass of forage and is drought tolerant between 2-5m and the leaves are elliptical and up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long. Its bark is rough. These leaves are what we commonly refer to as bitterleaf src

By Forestowlet [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

Bitter leaf is used in a variety of ways to make delicacies in most parts of west Africa and some parts of East Africa, for example in Cameroon, the leaves of these plants are used extensively as leaf vegetable and form a major constituent of a stew called ndole stew. While in Nigeria it is a major constituent of egusi soup, okra soup and ogbono soup. In Cameroon, the leaves of these plants are used extensively as leaf vegetable and form a major constituent of a stew called ndole stew
Bitterleaf can’t be consumed in it’s raw form in meals, just imagine having to watch @jerrybanfield’s comedy skits from start to end repeatedly for 24 hours, well nothing can be that bad but all I’m saying is it tastes really nasty. Therefore the leaves undergo a process to “wash out the bitterness” as we term it before it can be consumed in meals and below is a video compilation of how it’s done.

The process is basically a repeated process of washing and sieving off the green lathery substance(biterleaf water), often between 3-5 times, depending on the level of bitterness your meal is going to accommodate. In my culture, bitterleaf is an integral part of a variety of soups and stews and most notably in egusi soupand ogbono soup

In humans, the magical leaf is rife with medicinal applications other than pouring some quantity into cheap gin to feel less of a cheapskate. Technically speaking, in humans it’s no longer about the leaves but more about the green foamy liquid called “bitterleaf water. Here’s a none exhaustive list of illnesses and health problems bitterleaf water has been verified to cure or subside in some waysrc;

• Diabetes,

• Bitterleaf water acts as an antioxidant for the liver and kidney and even works for kidney stone.

• It detoxifies the system,

• It is used to treat skin infections like ring worm, rashes and itches due to the copper in it’s constituents that have a collagen effect on the skin.

• Research has proven that nursing mothers who regularly drink bitterleaf water have improved quality in breast milk. Bonus: if you have a kid like me who sucked breast milk till his 4th birthday then you can simply rub the leaf on the surface of your nipple and watch that kid start eating solids. I only forgave my mum last month.

• Regular consumption of bitterleaf water has shown to boost the individual’s immune system to diseases and improve cardiovascular activities. Bitterleaf extracts has shown to also fight against prostate cancer.

• Taking a glass or two of bitterleaf extract has shown to help insomniacs get some sleep.

You will literally find new benefits of this magic leave for any source you decide to go into so I figured I’d go search for some of the downsides/side effects of this magical leaf and all I got were;

• Allergic individuals will experience reactions after drinking the magic juice which may include diarrhea, vomiting and headache, so it’s important to test for any allergic reactions before you start drinking it.

• Due to its ability to control blood pressure(did I mention that?), it is important to consult your Doctor before taking it if you have any heart condition.
It’s safe to say the benefits greatly outweigh the downsides of using this magic leaf and in whatever context you decide to use the leaf: drinking it’s juice, ~~smoking~~, applying it on your skin or as part of your soup, stew or tea. You’re improving your health. Not too bad for a shrub that’s spread all over the country and sometimes is even taken to be weed(sadly not the smoked type).